Video: The Wettest Pinkbike Hot Lap with Mark Wallace

The Pinkbike Hot Lap is our own fun leaderboard of pros and bike industry friends. Riders put their best foot forward down a trail local to Pinkbike HQ and their time is recorded with a Freelap timing system.

This time we have Mark Wallace take on the challenge and post a time for the Pinkbike Hot Lap... in the pouring rain!

The Track

The trail used is called Credit Line. This was chosen as we consider it to be a pretty complete mountain bike trail that tests various riders' skills.

Needs a "W" next to his time for being wet... also still hoping this is all redone on a reasonably priced bike. You could then even bring in celebrities who ride, do a quick interview, let Sam Hill coach them down the lines...

While it's clear that he didnt bed his brakes in very well on his new build, hense the awful squealing, it was cool to be able to hear where he was and wasnt braking. A little mini clinic for oneself if they focus on it.

Actually the results are surprisingly consistent with what you see in Enduro and DH. As well as being able to produce more power, men have (on average) faster reactions, increased visual acquity when discerning motion and movement and they are less risk averse. Also, (although there are statistical nuances to this that require too much detail to go into here) because there tend to be far more men competing than women at most levels, elite men are typically that bit more "seasoned" and innovative in their methods to gain a competitive edge.

@Layman: I think it mostly comes down to power. Men are stronger than women and can put more weight into pedal strokes, pump harder, and they're heavier which can translate into momentum. I often fall behind the guys even though i can clear all the same jumps and obstacles as they can, and generally it seems to come down to guys just being able to put down more horsepower. It's like a 1000cc 4 cylinder Superbike versus a 600cc supersport.On motorcycles i tend to be able to hold my own better against men, but even then i tire out sooner than they do when we hit multiple high g corners in rapid succession.